UAE Rescues 22 Crew from Burning Cargo Ship in Gulf of Oman

The UAE rescues 22 crew members from a burning cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, the UAE National Guard said on Sunday, in the latest maritime emergency in waters at the centre of a growing confrontation between the United States and Iran.

All 22 crew members, who are Arab nationals, were evacuated safely and are in stable condition, the National Guard said. The vessel was not named, and the cause of the fire was not stated.

FAKTA

• What happened: A fire broke out aboard a cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman. The UAE National Guard’s Coast Guard Division rescued all 22 crew members.
• Who was rescued: 22 crew members, all Arab nationals. All were reported to be in stable condition.
• How: The crew alerted a Coast Guard unit about the fire. Specialised teams located the vessel, reached it and evacuated everyone aboard. The rescued crew received first aid before being handed over to the relevant authorities.
• Vessel and cause: The vessel was not named and the cause of the fire was not stated.
• Context: The rescue came hours after US forces disabled the cargo vessel M/V Huda in the same waters. No official link between the two incidents has been established.

How the Rescue Unfolded

The rescue began after the ship’s crew sent a distress report to a Coast Guard unit, the National Guard said. Specialised teams immediately activated response procedures, located the vessel and reached it before evacuating all 22 people on board.

“A National Guard Coast Guard unit rescued 22 people of Arab nationalities after a fire broke out aboard a cargo ship they were on in the Gulf of Oman,” the National Guard said in a statement posted on X.

The rescued crew members were given first aid before being handed over to the relevant authorities, and all were reported to be in stable condition. The National Guard said the operation showed the readiness of its personnel and their commitment to responding swiftly to maritime emergencies.

UAE Rescues 22 Crew Hours After Huda Disabled

The rescue came hours after US forces disabled the M/V Huda in the Gulf of Oman. US Central Command said the St. Kitts-flagged cargo vessel had visited an Iranian port and then tried to leave regional waters in violation of the American naval blockade. It said a US military aircraft fired precision-guided munitions at the vessel’s stern after its crew allegedly ignored repeated warnings.

The UAE National Guard’s statement did not identify the rescued vessel as the Huda and did not attribute the fire to any attack. Whether the two incidents involve the same ship has not been officially confirmed.

Footage circulated online showed a vessel engulfed in flames, with suggestions that Iranian projectiles may have struck it. That claim has not been independently established.

A Second Rescue in a Month

It is the second such rescue by the UAE Coast Guard in under a month. On 10 October, the Coast Guard Division rescued 22 Asian nationals after a fire broke out aboard an oil tanker in the Arabian Gulf. In that incident too, teams located the tanker after a distress call, evacuated all 22 crew members and gave them first aid before handing them to the relevant authorities, with all reported to be in stable health.

Gulf Shipping Under Strain

The rescue underlines the growing risks facing commercial shipping in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre separately reported an incident involving a bulk carrier and military forces about 18 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan, UAE, on 7 November, with the crew’s status and the extent of any damage unknown at the time of the report.

Claims by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards that tankers have struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz remain unconfirmed by independent maritime authorities, and no vessel names have been given in those claims.

No further details about the vessel involved in Sunday’s fire, or what caused it, have been released.